NCAA S87: UPHSD vs SSCR

History Lesson:
What started as a close game, tied at 15 after one quarter, 35-31 for the Stags are the first half, quickly became a blowout after the halftime break, as the Stags came out and dominated the hapless Altas behind a then-career high 31 points by Calvin Abueva, and a then-career high by Ronald Pascual. Unfortunately, the 87-60 win did not come without a price as this was also the game where San Sebastian lost Jonathan Semira to an ACL-tear, after initial reports were optimistic.  (Recap here)

UPHSD Stat to Watch : The hapless Altas average the least amount of points per game, at just 65.64 points, due in part because they convert only a lowly 23.64 field goals per game. That's simply not going to cut it against a Stags team that is averaging 90 points per game in the second round, no matter how good your defense is.
UPHSD Player to Watch : Justine Alano is the Altas' second-leading scorer, averaging 8.5 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds, impressive considering how he's probably the smallest of all the starting centers in the league. He'll have to somehow contain Ian Sangalang who's been putting up some monster numbers as of late, to which he say to Alano, "Good luck."

SSCR Stat to Watch : Head coach Topex Robinson has been on the Stags' case about their slow starts, wanting to blow teams out as early as the first quarter. In the first round, the average difference between the two teams was 6.67 in favor of the Stags, a number which has risen to 7.75 in round two. He'll definitely be look at how the Stags begin this match, as they were tied after one quarter when they first played.
SSCR Player to Watch : Odds are the Altas will use the zone to try to stop the San Sebastian bigs, meaning the Stags will turn to Ronald Pascual to keep them honest. Though he's averaging around 30 percent from downtown overall, that number has climbed to 41 percent in the second round, on 13 out of 32 triples. If he's on target, this will be a long game for the host school.

Prediction: SSCR Stags